Communication in SCA New York

The main methods of contact in SCA NY programs are traditional texting/calls and email. Please monitor our team site, personal cell phone, personal email, and OPRHP/DEC/partner provided (if applicable) email for communication from your Program Coordinator and Program Manager. Failure to do so will lead to missed opportunities and deadlines.

Use of the SCA NY Site, NYSPC Member Drive, & HVC Member Drive

Respectively, both the SCA NYSPC and SCA HVC use a team Google Drive. On it, you will find important general information for the Corps along with a “shared drive” containing handouts, resources,  and recordings of the trainings throughout the year. Links to the drives are on this Google site.

Recording Service Via Output Reports

While individual timecards record your time spent serving and in training, your output report records all that you've accomplished throughout your term of service. Each position in SCA New York has an output report, meaning that if there are multiple stewards in one position, the output report is shared. If there is only one steward in a position, the output report is their own. Members can find their output report, along with a bunch of other information, on the SCA New York Google Site. To access your position's output report on the SCA New York Google Site, choose the correct region, then the correct output report link. Here's what an output report looks like! Take note of the multiple tabs on the bottom. While the first tab can't be edited and reflects the position's progress, the Education, Stewardship, Volunteers, and Testimonial tabs can. Members are asked to record their education impact in the education tab, their stewardship impact in the stewardship tab, the volunteers they coordinate in the volunteers tab, and a monthly personalized testimonial in the testimonial tab.

• For the education tab, be sure to record the date, the program title, a short description, the number and names of SCA members educating, the service location, the service category, the testable number of people educated, if possible, those that are veterans, and number that scored higher on post tests. If the event isn't a formal educational event, members can forgo the number educated and number scoring higher on post tests for the number of people reached. For the service category, members should choose the option that fits best.

• Looking at the stewardship tab, be sure to record the start date, end date, the project title or location, the number and names of members serving, the service location, the service category, and any of the following output areas, Acres Improved, Miles Improved, Acres Mapped or Monitored, and Miles Mapped or Monitored. For the service category, members should choose the option that aligns best with their service activity.

• Looking at the volunteers tab, be sure to record the project date, the name or location, the number and names of members involved, the service location, the service category, the number of volunteers, the total number of volunteer hours, and if possible, how many volunteers were veterans. For the service category, members should choose the option that aligns best with the service activity.

• Looking at the Testimonials tab, this one is easy! Members are responsible for writing a six to twelve sentence testimonial for each month they are in service. The testimonials must follow on of these three prompts, Impact, What is a project or program that demonstrates the impact of your service on the local community? Testimonial, how your service has influenced your personal or professional goals? Innovations, what is an innovative or successful project or program that you have developed?

As a reminder, each position in SCA New York has an output report, meaning that if there are multiple stewards in one position, the output report is shared. Output reports should be edited by members either daily or weekly and audited for errors by the site supervisor. It can be hard to recall service activities weeks or months after you do them!

When it comes to output reports, the best practice is to record everything. Small things count too! When considering education outputs, programs can be counted multiple times if either the participants, location, or topic changes. Only if the program is the exact same, at the same place, with the same participants, should it be counted only once. The same goes for conservation! Conservation activities can be counted multiple times if either the project, location, or scope of the project changes. If members are returning to a site weeks or months after the initial project, it can be counted again. Only if the project is the exact same, at the same place, with the same focus, at the same time, should it be counted only once.

Finding Your Total Training & Service Hour Totals

It's easy! All you need to do is:

1. Log into ADP Workforce Management.

2. Navigate to your ADP Timecard.

   1. Navigate to "Helpful Links" on ADP Workforce Management homepage.

   2. Choose "Time and Attendance: WFM"

   3. This will open a new tab/window.

3. Once into Time and Attendance: WFM," choose the blue arrow next to "My Timecard."

4. In the top right-hand corner, change the "Date Range from "Current Timecard" to entire season.

   1. Choose "Date Range/Current Timecard" option in the top right-hand corner.

   2. Choose "Select Range."

   3. Enter your start date and end date.

5. In the main body of the window, the line items should change to reflect both "Training" and "Home/Service" paycodes while giving the season total for each along with a grand total.

Notes On Time Management

While SCA NY supervisors help, it's your responsibility as a member to plan out your service hours to ensure you receive your education award. It's always a good idea to bolster service hours with opportunities when offered throughout the season. Your end date will "sneak" up on you sooner than you think, and you want to be in a comfortable place when that happens.

In addition, SCA NY supervisors have been tasked with creating fulfilling, engaging schedules for members in the corps. Site Supervisors have the ability to give members time to explore their own interests, and look for opportunities outside of their position. If it contributes to your professional development, upholds SCA’s mission, and doesn’t violate AmeriCorps' prohibited activities, it can probably be counted as hours! With that being said, the needs of your position come first.

Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time to spend on specific activities. Good time management enables an individual to complete more in a shorter period of time, lowers stress, and leads to career/position success. Always try and practice the "Four P's" of good time management:

1. Prioritization: It's not how much time you have, it's what you do with it that counts. You can start to learn to prioritize our tasks to align with desired outcomes and timelines.

2. Planning: Write a to-do-list! Keep an ongoing list of tasks for the season. By planning, you can ensure that the tasks you set yourself actually move you toward your ultimate goals, instead of filling your day with chores that don't actually get you anywhere!

3. Productivity: By using some simple tools and techniques, you can increase your productivity in the areas where you want to get things done quickly. Using techniques such as the following can save a lot of time if done correctly.

4. Chunking: splitting tasks into small chunks and really focusing on each one individually - with no distractions!

5. Little and often: having a plan to do 20 mins a day for certain chores or activities, instead of leaving things and then needing to find the time to do it all in one go

6. 80/20 rule: If a task doesn't need to be perfect, making a commitment to do it to your 80% perfection level is normally good enough and gets things done much quicker

7. SMART Goal Setting: Sometimes it's not about the to-do-list, it's about what you're putting on it! Making sure goals are set using the right structure makes each one easier and makes you more productive overall. Plenty of resources are available if you Google "SMART Goals."

8. Positivity: It is important that you celebrate your success every step of the way and that you feel good about how far you have come. This will then (hopefully) create a positive feedback loop.

AmeriCorps Prohibited Activities

While charging time to the AmeriCorps program, accumulating service or training hours, or otherwise performing activities supported by the AmeriCorps program or AmeriCorps, staff and members may not engage in the following activities (see 45 § CFR 2520.65):

1. Attempting to influence legislation

2. Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes

3. Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing

4. Impairing existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements

5. Engaging in partisan political activities, or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any public office

6. Participating in, or endorsing, events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials

7. Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization

8. Providing a direct benefit to the following entities—

   1. A business organized for profit;

   2. A labor union;

   3. A partisan political organization;

   4. A nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions contained in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 related to engaging in political activities or substantial amount of lobbying except that nothing in these provisions shall be construed to prevent participants from engaging in advocacy activities undertaken at their own initiative; and e. An organization engaged in the religious activities described in 7. above, unless AmeriCorps assistance is not used to support those religious activities;

9. Conducting a voter registration drive or using AmeriCorps funds to conduct a voter registration drive

10. Providing abortion services or referrals for receipt of such services

11. Such other activities as AmeriCorps may prohibit.

Please note: Additional Prohibited Activities as of FY22_Program Year:

Census Activities. AmeriCorps members and volunteers associated with AmeriCorps grants may not engage in census activities during service hours. Being a census taker during service hours is categorically prohibited. Census-related activities (e.g., promotion of the Census, education about the importance of the Census) do not align with AmeriCorps State and National objectives. What members and volunteers do on their own time is up to them, consistent with program policies about outside employment and activities.

Election and Polling Activities. AmeriCorps Members may not provide services for election or polling locations or in support of such activities. AmeriCorps members may not engage in the above activities directly or indirectly by recruiting, training, or managing others for the primary purpose of engaging in one of the activities listed above. Individuals may exercise their rights as private citizens and may participate in the activities listed above on their initiative, on non-AmeriCorps time, and using non- AmeriCorps funds. Individuals should not wear the AmeriCorps logo while engaging in any of the above activities on their personal time.

NYSPC Member Wireless Routers

Members in the NYSPC program have difficulty accessing the internet due to the remote nature of their positions. Because of this, they are dispatched a SCA router for no expense.

Expected Use of the Wireless Router:

1. To be used for SCA NYSPC virtual trainings & AmeriCorps National Direct virtual trainings.

2. To be used to boost capacity for communication in an emergency.

3. To be minimally used for personal access.

4. Router may need to be positioned in an area that has T-Mobile service.

   1. If the usage exceeds 50GB, the router will be throttled and unusable for trainings. If this happens, it is the member’s responsibility to travel to a place with reliable service, use their own computer/phone, and reliably access the training. 

Wireless Router Use Instructions:

1. Use the provided plug and charger to charge the wireless router before use.

2. Push the main power button to turn on the wireless router. 

3. After the device boots, ensure that you have at least 3G service by checking the display screen.

4. Use the menu to access the WIFI settings to gain the WIFI’s name and password.

5. Connect to the wireless router with a device with WIFI capability by choosing the correct WIFI name and entering the password when prompted.

6. When done, push the main power button to turn off the wireless router. 

Wireless Router Sites:

1. Finger Lakes Region SCA Trail Stewards, Finger Lakes Region “Conservation House”

2. Finger Lakes Region SCA Education Stewards, Finger Lakes Region “Education House”

3. Allegany Region Environmental Education Steward, Camp Allegany- Allegany State Park

4. DEC Reinstein Woods SCA Education Steward, DEC Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve